


See No, Hear No, Speak No Evil

by WhiskerBiscuit



Category: Sonic Boom (Cartoon), Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Living Battery, Modern Movie Boom and Classic, The Blue Devils, Unethical Experimentation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:54:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27013837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiskerBiscuit/pseuds/WhiskerBiscuit
Summary: When Sonic Wachowski was captured by Robotnik, his dimensional counterparts were called to help save him. They thought it would be a piece of cake, that the kid would be fine, since most Eggmans were pretty soft-boiled under all the bravado.They thought very, very wrong.
Comments: 30
Kudos: 128





	See No, Hear No, Speak No Evil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was all based on three lovely pieces of art from a collab by the talented [tharkflark1](https://tharkflark1.tumblr.com/) and [justbecrazywithit](https://justbecrazywithit.tumblr.com/), which are featured in the fic. Content warning for distressing images including electrocution and implied torture.

It happened in the blink of a speedster’s eye.

Movie night at the Wachowski household. Tom and Sonic were creating an absolute monstrosity of a popcorn bowl in the kitchen, buttered to the brim and blanketed in nacho cheddar powder. Maddie hummed while she sat on the living room floor rifling through their DVD collection, trying to find a film that would balance out what each of them preferred - comedy or drama for herself, heartfelt and sincere for Tom, and packed with action scenes for Sonic.

Then the kitchen wall was blown open.

Maddie heard Sonic cry out as she rushed into the other room, freezing in shock at the sight of her husband half-stuck, unconscious, under a pile of debris. Sonic was right above him trying in vain to pull it all off of him.

“Maddie!” He called when he realized she was there, voice breaking and arms shaking. “I can’t, I can’t move it!”

She took one step forward - to reassure or help or, or something, she wouldn’t remember the reason later - and then another blast flattened her down on her back, knocking the wind out of her. Sonic fell as well, sprawling onto Tom in a flailing and panicked ball of blue.

“Oh how nice, a family night where everyone’s together and easy to finish off.”

The familiar, sneering voice sent a chill down Maddie’s spine. She struggled to sit up as a giant red aircraft floated in through the hole in the wall. Ivo Robotnik looked absolutely manic from his perch inside. He laid unbalanced eyes on Sonic and something ugly crossed his face.

“And there’s my perfect power source. Did you miss me? Shed a few tears, write a touching eulogy perhaps? Highly improbable, but you can make up for it by surrendering to me now.”

Sonic remained crouched over Tom, gaze darting between the mad doctor, his adoptive parents, and the weapons trained on all of them. Maddie tried to get back up, feeling the adrenaline and protective instincts combatting the pain in her bruised body, but they lost the battle and she fell down again. She saw both Sonic and Robotnik track her movement, her failure.

“Hmm. Seems like I killed two birds with one stone,” the scientist mused in cruel humor. “Wouldn’t be much hassle to finish the job right here, stop the meddling before it rears its ugly head.”

“You stay away from them!” Sonic asserted, and Maddie’s heart broke. He was absolutely terrified.

“Or what? You’ll break my machines again? Newsflash, this one’s much stronger than that lousy first prototype. And don’t think I didn’t see you floundering to save Mr. Hoedown over there. You might be fast enough to save yourself, but not these two.”

 _Get up!_ Maddie screamed at her useless limbs. _Get up and help! Save your baby!_

“I’m not letting you hurt them.” Sonic’s voice cracked again, determined but lacking the confidence to really support it.

“Ah, the misguided heroics arrive once again to make a nuisance of everything. Tell you what,” Robotnik leaned forward like a cobra, “if you come quietly, I vow on all seven of my doctorates _and_ my thirteen PhDs that I’ll leave the hicks alone. How’s that sound?”

 _Don’t do it!_ She tried to gasp out, tried to plead with her baby boy. _Please, don’t do it!_

But it was too late. Sonic raised his chin, mouth clamped firmly shut, and she knew he had already made up his mind.

“Alright Eggman. I’m yours. Just don’t hurt them anymore.”

“Of course! Of course,” the doctor purred. He tapped a button and a metal claw extended out from within the hull. “Just let me grab you and we’ll be on our merry way. Got a lot of ground to cover and things to discover.”

Sonic didn’t resist as the claw clamped around his tiny form. But then a crackle like lightning reverberated through the air, and his whole body arched with a choked cry. It lasted less than a second before he went limp in the machine’s hold, but it was an entire second of agony for Maddie to watch.

Robotnik cackled, a loud and long thing from the darkest parts of his being. He made eye contact with Maddie, smirked, then backed out of the wreckage with Sonic in tow. The sound of a ring portal outside had her eyes widening, and in a giant golden flash they were gone.

When Maddie was finally able to stand again, she found that Tom was mostly unharmed save for a nasty head bump. The debris hadn’t done much more damage than superficial bruises, thank god, and she was able to pull him out with a few careful tugs. Setting him on the couch with an ice pack was all she could think to do in the moment, running on medical autopilot.

She knew she couldn’t rescue Sonic on her own. Neither of them could, not with a ring involved. There was only one option left.

The interdimensional phone was sitting innocently on his nightstand, half charged, and she prayed to whatever was out there that someone would be quick to answer.

One ring, two rings, then - 

“Scarfz here, what’s up kid?”

And Maddie broke down.

* * *

“This is _my_ chili dog, you already ate yours, so stop trying.”

Sonic - a.k.a. Prime Sonic, Modern Sonic, “Buck”, etc. - perched on top of a street light, holding his prized lunch and staring down his opponent.

Sonic - a.k.a. Classic Sonic or “BB” - stood on the sidewalk below his elder, hands on his hips and tapping his foot. There was a determined, devious pout on his face.

“Nice try, Mini-Me, but the cute-factor works on moi no more. You’re gonna have to try something else.”

BB slowly crouched into a runner’s pose, and Buck tensed in preparation for a game of high-stakes tag. He nearly fell off the street light when the communicator watch under his glove rang, breaking both Sonics’ concentration.

The chili dog was quickly stuffed into his mouth (much to BB’s silent chagrin) and he answered the makeshift phone.

“Y’ello?”

“Buck!” It was the third Sonic of their group - Boom Sonic or “Scarfz”, the one who wore way too much sports tape and never bothered to tame his messy quills.

“Hey Scarfz, long time no talk.” Buck saw BB perk up below him at the sound of the other’s nickname. “What’s -”

“The kid’s been kidnapped!”

“Uh...gonna have to be a little more specific. We talkin’ about Tails or?”

“Wachowski!”

“Ah. Shoot. What happened?” Buck slid down the vertical metal pole and landed next to his miniature so they could listen together.

“His Eggman attacked his home and captured him, the human lady was freaking out over the phone. We need to get him back right now.”

Scarfz was in full panic mode over the other end of the line. It surprised Buck, who was used to seeing the elder hedgehog lax and seemingly uncaring about the world around him.

“Hey, hey, take it easy. It won’t be so hard for any one of us, much less three. What do we know so far?”

“Not, not much, actually,” The panic receded a bit into sheepishness. “Just that the other Eggman knocked him out and used a ring portal to take him somewhere else. But his human was really, really scared. She was _crying,_ Buck! I didn’t even know that was possible…”

“Alright, we can work with that.” He looked to BB, who gave a firm thumbs-up. “And don’t worry, buddy, of course she’s freaked out. She sees Wachowski like we see Tails, and a home invasion’s nothing to sneeze at.”

He started jogging, heading towards Mystic Ruins where the interdimensional portal they used to meet up was waiting. BB kept pace with him easily.

“Sides, the kid's defeated his Egghead before, and now he has us for backup. We'll find the base, bust 'Ski out before afternoon chili dogs, and tease him a bit for his first capture. Nothing to worry about!"

“If you say so…” Scarfz sounded skeptical, no doubt recognizing the placation tactics he himself was well-versed in. “Just as long as we do it fast.”

“As if there’s any other way to do things.”

* * *

“......Presence of unknown energy found in readings; inconclusive if this is an anomaly, foreign interference, or part of the subject's regular anatomy I had missed due to lack of proper previous analysis. Regardless, this energy is incredibly powerful and volatile. Explore with caution.”

Wachowski woke up groggily to the voice, unable to remember where he was or what had happened. It was too blurry to see anything beyond his nose. He groaned and a hand nestled in his quills, holding his head still.

“Gains consciousness twenty minutes after administered shock, faster than expected, but still manageable. Subject is disoriented,” fingers snapped right in front of his eyes, making him jolt in reflex. “But still receptive to audio and/or visual stimuli. We’ll see how long that lasts.”

The young hedgehog groaned again, trying to move his hands to get the grip off the back of his head. They moved about two inches before being forcefully stopped. Confused, he jerked them another way. Same result. With a start he realized he was ungloved and un-shoed.

A long, irritated sigh that seemed to echo from all sides. “Aaand he’s already being a pain. But I wouldn’t have made it this far without being a genius, and a genius knows to expect more than a little resistance. Good luck with those restraints, you spiky little urchin. They won’t break even if you’re flailing for all you’re worth.”

Wachowski felt the breath leave his lungs as he was pulled from a horizontal position to a vertical one, suspended with his arms almost perpendicular to his body. His legs kicked uselessly, caught in the same two-inch restriction at his ankles. His vision finally cleared enough to recognize Robotnik sniggering just inches from his face.

“Something tells me you’re going to prove that theory very soon.”

* * *

It didn’t take long to meet up in Wachowski’s dimension, and even less time to speed to his secluded house on the outskirts of Green Hills, Montana. All three Sonics stopped a moment just inside of the tree line upon seeing the wreckage along the side of the building. BB whistled, impressed with the destruction this world’s Eggman could wreak. He ignored the scolding look from Scarfz.

They entered through the giant hole in the kitchen and saw Tom laid up on the living room couch, unconscious with an ice pack on his head and a blanket over his body. Huddled on the floor next to him with her head in her hands was Maddie.

“Maddie, hey, we’re here!” Scarf was at her side in a flash, taking one hand in his own. She raised her head to blink tearily up at the tallest hedgehog.

“Thank you,” she murmured, exhausted. “Thank you for coming so fast. Please, save our baby.”

“Don’t you worry, Pretzel Lady,” Buck rubbed his nose with a confident smile. “We do rescue missions like three times a week! The kid’ll be back with ya in no time.”

The woman shook her head. “Robotnik took him with a ring. I have no idea how to follow him.”

“That’s totally fine, cause we have a resident expert here.”

They all turned to look at BB, who flicked his wrist in mock bashfulness. Producing a ring from his quills, he signed with one hand while staring intently at it. Maddie, knowing only the basics of sign language, looked at his movements with bleary confusion.

“He says this is the kind of ring that finds people, not places.” Buck translated. “It won’t warp us right next to Wachowski, but it’ll bring us close enough to spring him out within two minutes.”

BB nodded, then tossed the ring into the air. It rippled into an open portal instantly, and they all could clearly see giant mushrooms and the distant glimmer of a metal roof not far beyond the foliage.

“See? I betcha that’s Egghead’s base right there. Two minutes, tops!”

Buck and BB both gave Maddie quick salutes before sprinting straight through into the new world. Scarfz started distangling his hand from hers, but she squeezed it once to stop him.

“Please be careful,” she pleaded with him. “You don’t understand how dangerous it is. He’s a madman.”

Scarfz pursed his lips, then patted her other hand to reassure her. “We’ll be okay. We’ve done this countless times, alright? And the kid’ll be okay too. Promise.”

Maddie looked no less worried, but she let go of his gloved hand to let him leave. He smiled just as confidently as Buck had.

“Look after Tom for us in the meantime. I’m sure Wachowski will be happy to see he’s safe.”

She raised her chin, showing off some of the unshakability he was used to seeing. “You can count on me.”

“Good.” And Scarfz bolted through the portal, just in time for it to close up and leave the two parents all alone again.

He caught up to the other Sonics quickly, as they were waiting for him at the ridge of a mushroom overlooking the metal building. It was only one story and seemed rather small for an Eggman base, but there was no mistaking the Robotnik symbol emblazoned on the largest wall - darker red with a slightly different design than they were used to but still just as gaudy and narcissistic.

BB mimicked the ‘th’ sound with his mouth, not actually saying the syllable out loud, and alternated bringing his closed fists close and away from his chest with both pinkies lifted straight.

Buck snorted. “Yeah, when are they not. You ready to go, Scarfz?”

“Yeah, uh...yeah. Let’s just take it careful though, the human seemed pretty worried about this guy.”

“She can be worried for the both of us, cause I sure ain’t. Let’s do it to it!”

The words were like a signal as all three Sonics shot off down to the base, tearing through one wall in synchronous spin-dashes. They uncurled to get a good look at the new environment.

It appeared this base was deceptive in its size, for while there were plenty of machines and mad scientist doohickies everywhere, a set of stairs in the far corner led _down._ Scarfz grimaced, not a big fan of spelunking. Buck and BB were still fairly unconcerned.

With no immediate alarms or security showing up to fight back, the hedgehogs sped downstairs into the first basement floor. _This_ breach seemed to do the trick, because almost instantly there was the familiar whirring of engines powering up. Three large egg-shaped robots detached from the ceiling, scanning the area in glittering crimson.

BB responded first, jumping on the closest robot and slamming it to the ground with his feet. The two remaining bots lit up in warning but were just as quickly dispatched by identical spiky homing attacks. Buck and Scarfz unfurled midair and landed gracefully, right in time for the corridor to light up in a red alert.

“Welp, time to see what this place is really made of,” Buck shared a grin with the other two. “Since we’re going for the speedrun of this level, we’ll compare bot kill counts the next time we deal with Wachowski’s Eggman. Sound fair?”

BB gave a thumbs up. Scarfz nodded. The moment of peace broke when several more flying bots flew in, along with ground robots that looked almost like fancy, edgy four-wheelers. Buck went in for a flying kick at one of the new bots and - missed?

He caught himself in a roll before he hit the ground, gaping at the machine that was fast enough to dodge him. It shot at him _fast_ and he was barely able to get out of the way in time. Out of the corner of his eye he could see BB having similar struggles. Scarfz hung back behind them, not nearly as fast as his counterparts in a fight and not keen about getting hit from a reckless move.

“Jeez! These bots aren’t kidding around,” Buck backed off into a defensive position, tracking their motions and responding instantly when another shot for him. “Haven’t seen them this fast since my Eggman took over ninety percent of the world.”

BB sent him a funny look.

“It was a whole thing, don’t worry we took care of it.”

“Watch out!” Scarfz called, and Buck sprinted sideways on reflex. A bullet of pure energy missed him by a hair’s breadth. He could feel the spark of it raising his fur. It felt...familiar, in a way he couldn’t quite figure out.

“I think it’s time we took it up a mach,” he declared, revving his legs and dodging several bullets more. BB mimicked the posture to the point it looked like his feet had turned into an infinity loop. Scarfz puffed out his quills into deadly needles and crouched, ready to act as back-up.

The bots were abnormally fast, but they were still no match for three Sonics at the top of their game and at the height of battle focus. Within an instant they had trashed over half of the bots and were playing tag with the rest, taking any opening they saw to rip mercilessly through the metal.

Alarms still flooded the hallway, so they wasted no time rushing further into the base. More machines showed up to slow them down at every turn, every delve deeper underground. A few were easy to pick off, but most were filled head to toe in the strange energy that none of them could name.

“Do you think it’s from a chaos emerald?” Scarfz shouted over the fight.

“Most likely! Would explain why it feels so familiar but we’re having trouble with it, must be one from Wachowski’s dimension. I don’t think even he’s encountered one yet.”

BB whistled low.

“Yeah, no kidding! Who'da thunk the kid has the strongest version we’ve seen so far?” Buck took out another flying bot and shook his head to rid his quills of bolts and springs. “Let’s swipe it off this Eggman when we rescue ‘Ski so he doesn’t have to worry about a quick comeback.”

“Sounds good to me!”

The further they went, the fewer robots showed up to fight back. The three shared glances, knowing this was for one of two reasons - either Wachowski’s Eggman wasn’t prepared for regular Sonic invasions just yet, or he had a nastier surprise waiting for all of them. They hoped it was the former.

About five floors down, it got quiet enough for them to catch a new sound echoing off the metal walls. They all skidded to a halt to try to identify it.

It was screaming. Wachowski was screaming.

The hallway _shook_ with the force of three sonic booms.

Down one more floor and through a series of doors, Buck beat the other two by milliseconds - an eternity in Sonic Time - making it into the room first only because he was the fastest of them all.

It was one of the only times he ever regretted that statement in his life.

Suspended above them in a ring of twisted machinery was Wachowski, convulsing blue and white electricity like he had been possessed by Chaos itself. His face contorted with eyes unseeing at every strain of muscle and limb. His voice was raw and cracked, and yet he continued to scream.

As every pulse of his energy bled into the generators around his limbs, flying robotic eggs hovered from behind and relentlessly plucked super-charged quills from his head and back, feeding them into other robots who booted up instantly with the new power source.

And above him, hovering far above in a black armored eggmobile, Robotnik was smirking. Smirking like it was all in the plan for this to happen. Smirking like he hadn't wanted it any other way.

BB put his hands to his mouth to keep from crying out. Scarfz covered his ears as if it would block out the screaming, the sight, everything. Buck had to look away with eyes squeezed tight, sickened and in disbelief.

They only allowed themselves a moment to be horrified before the righteous rage set in. Without even having to say anything, BB and Scarfz jumped for the machine that held Wachowski in bondage while Buck went straight for the monster himself.

Robotnik screeched at the sight of them. _“Three more of them?!_ Do they just have a garden where you pop out of the ground somewhere?!”

Buck snarled and rammed quill-first into his floating throne, sending it flying into the back wall. Just behind him, the other two were ripping apart every chunk of the generator they could get their hands and feet on. Wachowski’s screaming only started to taper off when four of the six depots were completely out of commission.

“No! What are you doing? Don’t you realize how much time it took to make that on a planet with very few natural metal deposits?!”

“Stuff it, Robotnik,” Buck spun at him again. He hit the hull with a satisfying crunch. The mad scientist growled.

“Or what, rodent? Think I’ll just let you take my beautiful blue battery away from me? Guess again!”

A prong-shaped gun extended out from under the eggmobile and shot wildly at the enraged hedgehog. They were the same energy-bullets as the ones they’d fought before, all cyan and white and crackling, and Buck felt sick. 

It wasn’t a chaos emerald. It was Wachowski’s life force.

He dodged them and attacked the twisted man with a seriousness he reserved only for the worst of the worst kinds of enemies. His own Eggman had done some truly heinous things, yes, but there had also been a sort of understanding between the two of them, some lines they never spoke of but silently agreed never to cross.

Robotnik sneered and aimed his gun again, ready to take Buck out at close range, but his focus was thrown when Wachowski’s cries finally cut off completely. Neither of them could help the glance back, where Scarfz cradled the limp kid to his chest as BB broke apart the manacles at his wrists and ankles. The ring-shaped generator was completely and utterly destroyed.

“You miserable rats! How dare you!” The scientist screamed, his gaze snapping back to his controls. But he was one second too late, because Buck was already homing right through the gun and straight into the unprotected underbelly of the eggmobile. It sputtered and sparked dangerously.

Robotnik smashed his fist against the panel in vain, as the machine dropped to the ground and left him wide open for a very angry, very powerful hero. Buck grabbed him by the front of his flight suit and pulled him close.

“If you ever, _ever_ pull something like that again with the kid, we’ll dare to do a lot more. Don’t come near Sonic again.”

They stared at each other, eyes narrowed in mutual animosity, before Robotnik’s lip curled and he looked away, spitting at the ground. Buck took it as the best hope for surrender he was going to get and gave a swift, light kick to the man’s chest to send him sprawling in his wrecked machinery.

He turned to the others, who waited nearby with Wachowski held close in Scarfz’ arms. BB looked as though he was ready to murder Eggman, but Buck shook his head.

“We need to take him home,” he said, eyeing the comatose child between them. “Let’s just go.”

BB clicked his tongue but took out a ring without further protest. Scarfz just looked tired.

Buck couldn’t blame him.

* * *

Tom was awake when they got back, pacing the living room with the ice pack dutifully held to his head. Maddie was sitting on a chair close by, but she jumped up as the ring appeared and the three Sonics bounced through the portal.

Scarfz handed Wachowski over to her immediately, and she set him carefully on the couch to check him. He was still unconscious, breathing labored, and every so often his muscles contracted as residue energy still jolted through his tiny body. His wrists and ankles were damp with blood, forming almost-perfect circles of torn fur and broken skin. Maddie went straight to work cleaning those wounds first. The hedgehogs took turns explaining what had happened, how they found Wachowksi in the base and what Eggman was doing.

Tom hovered over her shoulder, a white-knuckled fist to his mouth as he stared at the damage Robotnik had managed to do within a single hour.

“I’m gonna kill the bastard,” he whispered, shaking, and BB took his free hand in a death grip. Whether it was to reassure him or stop him, neither could say.

“You and me both, pal,” Scarfz muttered from his spot on the couch’s arm. “I didn’t even know an Eggman could be this cruel.”

He couldn’t make eye contact with Maddie, even as she paused in her work for just a moment.

“We knew there was a risk of him returning,” she said quietly, wrapping up one twitching leg in bandages. “And we knew he wanted to...to study Sonic, or steal his powers, or whatever you want to call it. I’m not sure how different it is for all of you, but it’s not your fault. You didn’t know, and I didn’t exactly give you a lot of facts. All we can do is move forward.”

“Move forward, yeah…” Buck watched Wachowski’s face. His expression was still troubled but it was a far cry from the horrific throes of agony of before.

BB signed a question with a frown.

“He’s asking if you want us to leave you alone for a while. Till the kid wakes up or, longer than that.”

The humans looked at each other for a good few seconds. Tom was the one who broke the silence.

“I think...I think we’d like it if you stayed. You don’t have to, but Sonic’ll probably be happy to see you’re all here for him. And, uh…”

 _We don’t know when Robotnik will come back,_ hovered unsaid between them.

“Say no more,” Scarfz got to his feet, wringing his hands. “I’ll just call Tails and let him know I’ll be gone for a few days...weeks? A while. Be right back.”

He trudged into the other room, tapping at his wrist communicator. Neither BB nor Buck made any move to do the same, and it prompted a raised eyebrow from the humans.

“Our Tails both already know we’d be busy,” Buck explained easily. “It’s pretty normal for us to disappear for weeks at a time.”

“....Right.” Tom shifted his feet back and forth. “I’ll go ahead and set up some extra bedding in Sonic’s room. Unless you need anything right now?”

He turned to Maddie, who shook her head. “I’ve got the worst of it covered, but we won’t know what else he needs until he wakes up. I’m not using the smelling salts on him yet either. He needs to rest and recover as much as possible.”

“Okay. Okay,” Tom repeated the word to himself a few more times as he went to find sleeping bags and whatever else. The others shared sympathetic looks, knowing what it was like to feel useless in times like these. Scarfz came back into the living room and rubbed his eyes.

It was quiet in the house after that, as they watched the veterinarian patch up Wachowski’s limbs, flip him onto his stomach, then start treating his head and back where he was missing entire patches of quills. It was a sobering sight to all three hedgehogs.

Eventually, Maddie carried him upstairs and tucked him gently into bed. Buck, BB, and Scarfz followed her up, and when she turned back to them there were unshed tears in her eyes. She kneeled to face them directly.

“Thank you,” she spoke so softly that their ears all flicked to attention just to catch it. “Thank you all so much. I don’t know what would’ve happened without you.”

Buck sidled up to her, offering a handshake. BB rolled his eyes and shoved his elder counterpart into the human’s arms. They were both startled for a moment, but fell into a proper hug with gusto. BB was quick to join them, and Scarfz circled around to hug Maddie from behind.

As Wachowski’s breathing evened out into real sleep, they knew it was going to be okay.

Just in this moment, it was okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, I finally did it. There will eventually be a second chapter of the aftermath and how all the characters are dealing with it, and I have _no_ idea when that will be. For now, please enjoy the pain.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!


End file.
